Resulting synergies will support the transformation of LBS for mobile app and PND users.

The LBS, Digital Mapping, Telematics, Traffic Information and Personal Navigation system provider CloudMade has acquired the Geospatial Technology company OneStepAhead. The outcome of the acquisition will be the merging of CloudMade’s geo-platform and developer tools expertise with OneStepAhead’s unique Open Source approach to highly customized on-device map caching, update and rendering technologies. Motivation for the acquisition was to further CloudMade’s pursuit of developing the world’s most comprehensive map and geo-platform by way of enabling developers to transform location experiences for mobile application and personal navigation device consumers.

On the topic of the upcoming coalition of technologies with CloudMade, Nihat Küçük, CEO of OneStepAhead, said that “Merging our strong onboard rendering and navigation technologies with off-board services from CloudMade creates a hybrid mapping technology which presents huge opportunities for device manufacturers and operators looking to gain a competitive advantage in the location market. We’re thrilled to be part of making this a reality."

The resulting synergy of CloudMade and OneStepAhead’s collaboration is an online/offline hybrid platform that will allow consumers to have access to automatically resizable map data, points of interest, routing, turn-by-turn navigation and other location specific data even when not connected to the internet. Additional live data services, such as weather forecasts and traffic data are accessible when the device has connectivity. Since internet connectivity is not required to access maps and other location information, the platform will reduce mobile data charges for consumers.

CloudMade and OneStepAhead’s cross-platform solution provides over the air incremental updates, which will eliminate the need for consumers to regularly download large map updates on congested mobile networks, slow searches and out-of-date maps. Further, companies employing a branded store-finder application will no longer need to update and release an entirely new application to its millions of users when new store locations are added because all apps, live feeds and new points of interest will be able to update in the background when the user connects to the internet.